What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

My team was instrumental in supporting the Microlink group’s Proposed Transfer Application which kick started in mid-2022. As part of the due diligence working group, we contributed significantly to providing and drafting detailed information required from the legal department for purposes of this exercise with regards to, amongst others, material contracts and litigation, various project status (from beginning to current status as at the last practicable date), providing updated information and documents to the principal advisers and solicitors to assist in various stages of the application, attending verification as well as ad-hoc meetings and generally providing valuable input not limited to legal matters only. Microlink was successfully listed on the main market of Bursa Malaysia in February 2023.

My team was also instrumental in assisting with contract negotiations between Microlink and a global ICT company for the maintenance of the IT operations of a leading telecommunications company in Bahrain. This has also led to the incorporation of a Microlink subsidiary in the Kingdom of Bahrain thus acting as a steppingstone for Microlink to market its expertise to other clients in the Middle East.

We also successfully negotiated a services contract between Microlink and a leading insurance provider in Vietnam to provide Microlink’s Insurtech platform to its client. The platform, which comes with key components such as Digital Sales Portal, Customer Portal and Insurance Marketplace will help the client secure an increased customer base and generate new revenue.

We successfully negotiated the terms of a significant contract between Microlink and the Road Transport Department of Malaysia for the Automated Awareness Security Safety System with a contract sum of approximately RM35m. Through this project, Microlink will be developing, enhancing and providing technical assistance to the open system platform that monitors the driving speeds and driver behaviours along major highways and at accident blackspots in Malaysia.

What are some of your main tips for dealing with a crisis?

Whilst the legal department would not typically be in charge of a crisis, we nonetheless need to be ready to provide support that may be required to address the crisis including advising on possible mitigating steps that the company should consider taking. Time is of the essence. Three tips include:

Ensure that there is adequate protection of sensitive or confidential information and the same is not compromised in the course of dealing with the crisis.

Assisting with getting the right message across to all employees that the crisis is being addressed, managed and handled by the relevant stakeholders within the organisation to avoid employees from panicking or acting impulsively to the detriment of the company.

Ask for help – if the crisis involves an area that you might not be familiar with, reach out to an external party who specialises in the subject matter of the crisis or has experience dealing with the relevant authority, who may then be able to guide you on next steps and what to prepare for.

In general, what would you like to see change about the external law firms you use?

It would be ideal if external law firms had a better understanding of my organisation’s business which can sometimes be quite technical, especially when it involves a dispute over a complex project.

They must also be willing to assist to answer ad-hoc queries about certain areas of law or an issue we might be facing which might not necessarily lead to engagement of the law firm’s services – but what matters is positioning yourself as someone who is willing to look at the big picture and value the potential business opportunity or the existing client relationship. It is always appreciated when external counsel is willing to have a casual conversation or answer a query over a phone call rather than insisting that only written advice or opinion can be given.

External law firms should also have complimentary educational seminars or discussions. Make it more targeted, so that it would be relevant to us as clients based on the type of business that we are involved in.